First Smartphone Worm Discovered

from the great dept

It's no surprise that this was coming, as many have been predicting it for quite some time, but an antivirus company today announced the first known computer worm for a smartphone. It doesn't sound all that likely to spread - as it only works on Symbian phones, and uses Bluetooth connections to travel. It tries to detect other Bluetooth phones and then jumps to the new phone. Still, it's a noteworthy moment, and we can expect many more smartphone worms and viruses to be on their way. It won't be long until you'll need anti-virus software for your phone as well, or you may discover that your phone starts calling people in your phonebook randomly. Of course, with that in mind, it kind of makes you wonder if it wouldn't make sense for anti-virus firms to fan the flames of just such a virus to open up a new line of business for themselves.

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Security expert, diabolical mastermind, software company owner, and over achiever, Sam Samuelson has discovered a land based phone Virus. This Virus transmits itself through phone lines and speakers to other compatible phones in the area. The virus generally spreads through Nortel multi-line phones, although Experts at Sam Samuelson’s software company expect variants for Nortel single line phones, SBC switch boards, and a variety of office devices created by Lucent Technologies. The virus, also known as a “worm” in tech circles, uses the phones to spread throughout a network, and attempts to scan customer databases to make obscene phone calls. One customer remarked “It just said, ‘I want to see you nekkid’ over and over again. Caller ID confirmed the call came from my local Office Troth. So I called Office Troth and they said they had no interest in seeing me nekkid. They had apparently been having similar problems the whole week.” Sam Samuelson predicts that this could be the beginning of a huge big incredible money making trend, and that you need to buy his Nortel phone protection software before the Virus gets you too! AT&F is confidant in their network, and said in a comment to the press "We're confident in our network and it's security. We buy plenty of software from Sam Samuelson. Under the terms of our contract with Sam’s company, we’re fully protected from phone Viruses, Worms, Trojans, and the Boogie Man." A company representative said in a taped interview.